Snow not expected to stick around

Today will remain a cold one, but the day will be dry and any snow that accumulated isn’t expected to stick around.

By JANNETTE PIPPIN - Daily News Staff

Those who were hoping for snow got their wish.

Those who could have done without a wintry mix of rain and the white flakes will be glad to know it won’t last long.

The rain that mixed with a blast of arctic air to drop snow in the Onslow County Saturday is forecasted to move out of the area pretty quickly.

“It should be gone by 5 a.m. (today),” said meteorologist Lara Pagano of the National Weather Service forecast office in Newport.

Today will remain a cold one, but the day will be dry and any snow that accumulated isn’t expected to stick around.

But Eastern North Carolina did get a showing of snowflakes.

Rain began to fall in the Onslow and Carteret counties around 4 p.m. Saturday and started changing over to snow before 6 p.m.

The forecast called for accumulations of a dusting to an inch in the Onslow area, and as night fell Saturday the wintry precipitation was falling fast and surpassing those amounts.

Onslow County Emergency Services Director Norman Bryson said parts of the county were expected to see more than forecasted by the time the weather system passed.

“Richlands already has more than an inch,” he said Saturday night.

All of Eastern North Carolina was put under a winter weather advisory on Saturday, and it remains in effect until 9 a.m. today.

The primary concern is travel conditions from potentially icy roads.

Overnight was expected to be the worst time on the roads, but Bryson said motorists should continue to use caution today.

“Even as the sun comes up and it starts to melt, it could still be wet on the roads. And anything wet still on roads ... could freeze again,” he sid.

He was not aware of any significant accidents Saturday night, but the snow was still coming down heavily and overnight lows that could ice up the roads were still in the forecast.

The N.C. Department of Transportation was out Friday and Saturday in preparation.

“We were busy (Friday) and put out 3,500 gallons of brine on the bridges and overpasses around Onslow County,” said Warren Wethington, county maintenance engineer for NCDOT,

Wethington said they have also gone out to the county Emergency Operation Center and Onslow Memorial’s emergency room and treated the parking lots in those areas in case of emergencies during icy conditions.

Message boards were also placed at locations along the Jacksonville bypass to remind drivers to use caution.

Jacksonville Police Department urged motorists to use caution and to only call 911 in the case of emergencies. Motorists seeking information about specific roadway conditions should contact NC DOT by calling 511 or 1-877-DOT-4YOU. DOT also provides road condition information on their Traveler Information Management System (TIMS) at http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/.